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kateoplis:

Guardian: World Cup organizer considers vuvuzela ban after tv complaints

Fifa has previously shrugged off complaints from broadcasters, players and coaches about the noise from the plastic horns that are being sold on every street corner in South African host cities; it said that the horns formed part of the unique African atmosphere of the tournament and refused to ban them. But organizing committee chief executive Danny Jordaan, who battled for 16 years to bring the World Cup to South Africa, said he would prefer the 10 stadiums hosting the World Cup to ring to the sound of singing and dancing than the drone of the vuvuzela.

“I would prefer singing. It’s always been a great generator of a wonderful atmosphere in stadiums and I would try to encourage them to sing,” he said.

“In the days of the struggle (against apartheid) we were singing, all through our history it’s our ability to sing that inspired and drove the emotions.”

In Holland, the national broadcaster has decided to decrease the stadium volumes in their transmissions to enable commentators to be heard. That is a great shame - this decreases the atmosphere greatly, and even if there were some songs heard (such as when the national anthem of England finally overpowered those plastic horns in the second half of the England-USA match) they will now be at lower volume. I vote strongly for a Vuvuzela ban. Singing is part of the experience.